Kirk had been in an excellent mood for over a week. So far without drawing too much attention, he had colonies on two planets, had taken control of a space station, another Imperial ship and an older Romulan warbird that had been modified by a group of pirates. As Bones had pointed out to him, not a bad start at all to his future Empire.

The newest set of orders to arrive brought him back down to reality. Were they a sign that the Emperor or one of his lapdogs had noticed something was amiss? He read through everything a third time before activating the recorder for his log.


Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.249

An amendment has come through to our orders. We are to take our findings as well as the remains of the ISS Miranda to the Yorktown station. She's the biggest and newest station the Empire has, but why there? There are plenty of stations far closer to us. Then I open the 'For the Captain's Eyes Only' section - I have to pick up some artifact and use it to broker a peace between two warring factions.

I don't see why blowing both sides up isn't the first option. More efficient.


Turning the recording off, he next called the Bridge.

"Kirk to Navigation."

Chekov's voice came back immediately.

"Navigation reporting, Captain."

"Plot out a course for the Yorktown station. I will be on the Bridge shortly."

"Aye, Captain. Right away, sir."

Closing off the comm without further comment, Kirk's eyes flashed back to the message again. Him a peace broker? He was the command office4r of a war ship - the figurehead of the Imperial Fleet. Why were they wasting his time with this dreck?

Still feeling aggravated, Kirk pulled out one of his daggers, idly testing the edge on the blade as he thought. He had always wanted a better look at the Yorktown station, but had never thought of a semi-reasonable excuse to go so far off the Enterprise's route. Oh sure, he had gone off route plenty of times and over greater distances, but the arrival of the Enterprise at the Yorktown would not have gone unnoticed and, more importantly, not gone unreported to the Emperor.

Pleased as he was to have the Persica station, it was around a tenth the reported size of the Yorktown. Not as big a difference as say the moon to the Earth, but it was still a considerable difference. The Enterprise could fully dock inside the Yorktown rather than at an external dock as the Persica required.

Closing his eyes briefly, Kirk drew a deep breath. Some day. Some day, the Yorktown and so much more would be his to command, but for now, he needed to concentrate on today. Resheathing his dagger as he got to his feet, Kirk adjusted his uniform belt and headed for the Bridge. Time to issue a few orders and after that? Time to claim the company of his consort. The trip to the Yorktown wasn't going to be a quick one and he could think of several better ways to pass the time than sitting on the Bridge and watching the stars go by.